Magic's Vucevic and Nicholson make mark in Rising Stars Challenge

Lake Howell's Parsons entertains host Rockets' fans

HOUSTON — Andrew Nicholson saw a copy of the boxscore from Friday's Rising Stars Challenge sitting on an edge of a table in Houston's Toyota Center.

He snatched it.

"I just had to see this," the Orlando Magic's rookie forward said. "It's interesting to me. I mean, the score was 163."

The complete score was Team Chuck 163, Team Shaq 135, to be precise.

Nicholson scored six points in a losing effort, and Orlando teammate Nikola Vucevic scored 15 points for Team Chuck.

Chandler Parsons, a second-year Houston Rockets player from Lake Howell High and the University of Florida, added 13 points in a win.

"It was a lot of fun," said Vucevic, the second-year center. "Just going out there, not really thinking about anything and showing off your skills.

"It was the first time I've played in a basketball game without playing defense. That wasn't bad at all."

And he means it: there was zero defense.

The game was made up of first- and second-year players who were drafted last week by general managers Shaquille O'Neal — who once led the Magic to the NBA Finals here in Houston — and Charles Barkley.

Kenneth Faried scored a game-high 40 points and was named MVP for Team Chuck. Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to lead Team Shaq.

O'Neal, by the way, sat courtside, watching his team. Barkley never showed. Apparently, he just didn't want to watch this, at times, ridiculous "basketball game."

Team Chuck scored 90 first-half points and shot 66.1 percent from the field. It finished at 63.9 percent. Team Shaq shot 60.4 percent in the first half and finished at 61.9 percent.

The game's final minutes turned into a slam-dunk contest, with Faried and Florida alum Bradley Beal putting on a show while the rest of the players scattered.

In the final seconds, the Houston fans started chanting, "Par-sons ... Par-sons," wanting the hometown player to finish the scoring — and he did with an uncontested dunk.

Last year, Parsons participated in the Shooting Stars challenge in Orlando's All-Star Weekend — a treat playing in his hometown.

"To represent the Rockets was real special to me," Parsons said. "Just being a part of it, playing in the game and being in Houston.

"It was different in a way. I play here. People love the Rockets here. I play on the Rockets. Orlando is where I grew up. It's kind of a different feel. ... Both feelings were unbelievable. I'm really grateful I've been a part of both in my first two seasons."

Vucevic made a running hook shot and a 3-pointer in an 8-0 run that put Team Chuck ahead 46-29 with nine minutes left in the first of two 20-minute halves.

The Chucksters' lead never fell to single-digits again.

After the game, Vucevic was proud to talk about his 3-point attempt. He is 0-for-2 on 3-pointers this regular season, and he was 3-of-8 in his rookie year last year.

"I made that one, you know," he said of his Friday attempt.

Vucevic is averaging 12.4 points and 11.5 rebounds for the Magic, who at 15-37 are the second-worst team in the NBA at the break.

Nicholson, who is averaging 7.8 points, had a couple nice dunks off feeds from Damian Lillard late in the first half of Friday's exhibition.

"It was a great environment around here — the media, the fans," Vucevic said. "It was great to be here."